Thunder Clouds
by CuttingLightning
Summary: After Asuma's death, Shikamaru can't pull himself out of his sadness. Kiba is upset that Naruto beat him to Hinata. That is, until Kiara and Kori come along. Will these spitfires be able to help? And what's Akatsuki got to do with it? ShikaOC, DeiOCKiba
1. Chapter 1

Shikamaru stood frozen, his mouth agape as he watched the life leave his sensei, his second father, his friend. Falling to his knees, the Jonin gripped his head, asking himself how this could happen. Asuma was nothing but a good man. Why was it that the villains got to kill him? Ino tried her best to heal him, but the damage caused by that pale man was far too much. As Shikamaru lit him a cigarette, a single tear rolled down his cheek. 'Asuma-sensei, I will avenge you. That man and his family are going to die.' as the final breath left his sensei's lips, Ino let out a cry of anguish. The young jonin wrapped his strong arms around his blonde teammate and let his tears flow freely. Hidan of the Akatsuki would pay.

* * *

Miles away, the leader of the infamous group Akatsuki was standing before two girls, one nineteen years of age and the other twenty-two. The elder of the two had chestnut hair flowing to her knees and a hard look upon her pale features. Her shirt came to a stop at the bottom of her breasts and her cyan skirt rested on her hips. Her black boots stopped at her mid-thigh. This girl was Kori Chikyu. The younger girl, though shorter, had a much more dangerous aura about her. Her long black hair looked like the tips had been dunked in white paint and a dangerous fire burned in her orange eyes. She moved the two snakebite piercings she wore with her tongue and tuned her leader out. She already knew what her mission was going to be. The shorter girl smoothed out her white tank top and black, torn skirt, straightening her posture when Leader fixed her with a sharp glare. Her lack of respect was going to get her killed. Tuning back in, she heard him say,

"Kiara Chi and Kori Chikyu. You two are our youngest members and therefore are the most eligible for this mission. You are to infiltrate Konoha's ranks and find out what you can about the village's weaknesses. Bi-monthly reports will be delivered via hawk, Kiara. If you fail to do this, we will send your brother after you, Kiara. This is your only warning." Jerking his thumb over his shoulder, Pein pointed to a white-haired man with his Akatsuki robe half-open. Bowing her head respectfully, Kiara untied her slashed waterfall village headband from her neck and gripped it tightly. Would things ever be the same again? Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she regained her composure and looked Pein in the eye.

"I understand, Leader-sama. We will do our best to complete our mission." Always the stoic one, Kori simply bowed.

"You are dismissed." Pein said as he turned on his heel and walked off, Konan on his heels.

Turning to her partner and friend, Kiara looked her up and down, as if assessing her. "When you have finished preparing, meet me outside." The shorter girl grabbed her sword and headed ou toward the sunlight.

Kori sighed and went to her room, packing her things. She brought soldier pills, bandages, and explosive tags. Her bloodline allowed her to make weapons, so there was no need for them. Just as she was about to turn around, a pair of strong arms encircled her waist and a small smile found its way to her lips.

"Hello love." She whispered, leaning against the man behind her.

"I'm going to miss you, hm." The man said.

As she turned to face him, Kori kissed her boyfriend lovingly and pulled away, looking into the one blue eye that was visible.

"Dei, I'm going to miss you too. I hope we can keep in touch. I will be back before you know it." The brunette pulled out of his embrace reluctantly and stepped back. "I must be going now. Kiara doesn't like to be kept waiting." She squeezed his hand and giggled when his palm licked hers.

As she stepped outdoors, Kori had to shield her eyes from the sun. Being inside for so long really messed with her already sensitive eyes.

"There you are. You know I hate waiting." A steel-edged voice said from her right. Kiara may have been small, but she had the same ferocity as her elder brother and was far more deadly.

Despite the obvious weight of her sword, the Kubikiribōchō, she was fast and a truly silent killer. Her abilities differed from her brother's, however. She could be killed, but not easily. Her ability to stop blood flow to a certain place helped her by stopping blood loss and the fact that she could sew limbs back on helped as well. She didn't depend on Jashin's teachings to keep her immortal, so she had no need to stay stationary like her elder brother.

Kori's fighting style was very different from her partner's. Her ability to manipulate crystal was unique and was used mainly for long-range attacks. Her status as a skilled medical ninja made her a supposed easy target, but when she was in battle, she went ballistic.

"My apologies, Kiara. I was bidding Deidara goodbye." Kori said, tightening the strap on her backpack.

A snort was heard from Kiara as she rolled her eyes. "Love and emotions are for the weak. Come, we must get going."

* * *

Days passed as the two girls traveled. They were silent most of the time, but Kori tried to keep it the opposite. She tried to get the 5'3" girl to talk, but she was having none of it. Kiara was far too busy planning things out in her head. Thankfully, Leader-sama had thought ahead and asked the Hokage for permission to transfer two of his ninjas from Ame into Konoha. It was the perfect cover-up.

As the large red gates came into view, the pair slowed down. They approached the gatekeepers and Kori offered them a warm smile. "Hello! I am Kori Chikyu and this is Kiara Chi. We're here to see the Hokage about our transfer from Ame." The two chuunin at the gates checked the records and motioned for the two girls to pass through.

Going immediately to the Hokage's tower, Kiara was almost knocked on her butt by a tall man she ran into. Looking up at him with a glare, she practically growled out: "Watch where you're going, pineapple." With that, she picked herself up off the ground and continued on her way to the tower.

Shikamaru stood there, shocked. Had a girl a foot shorter than him really just insulted him? Rolling his eyes, he shook his head. She must be one of the new Ame transfers. Man, he would hate to be on a team with her. Continuing his leisurely pace, he let his thoughts drift as he gazed at the nearly cloudless sky.

The two girls arrived at the Hokage's office and knocked on the door. A gruff 'Come in' was heard and they pushed open the door. Across the room from them was none other than the Godaime Hokage, Tsunade Senju.

"Hokage-sama, thank you for letting us into your village. I am sure that it will strengthen our respective village's trust in each other. I am Kiara Chi, jonin. This is my partner Kori Chikyu, tokubetsu jonin." Kiara said, bowing her head. On her way here, she had told Kori not to speak out of turn. Despite the girl being older than her, the brunette had a tendency to speak out of turn. More often than not, it got the two of them into trouble.

The Hokage looked both girls up and down, assessing them. "It is a pleasure to meet you two. We have teams assigned for the both of you. Unfortunately, you two will not be able to be partnered. There are absences on two teams, and we have four-man cells here." The busty blonde pushed two folders toward the girls and they picked them up. "Kiara-san, you will be on Team 10. Your assasination skills and skill with kenjutsu will compliment the team greatly. Kori-san, you will be assigned to Team 8. Their fourth member is on maternity leave, so you will be replacing her. Your medical skills and attacks will help them, seeing as they are a tracking team." The Hokage folded her hands on her desk and gave the two girls a small smile. "Welcome to Konoha. You will meet with your teams in one hour at training ground seven. I will have someone escort you there. Dismissed."

The girls bowed and said their thanks before exiting the office. The hour they had to themselves was spent searching for their apartment and exploring the village. Soon enough, they found themselves approached by a loud blonde, telling them to follow him. I was time to meet their teams.

* * *

As the trio arrived at the meeting place, Kiara took note of four of the people there. A brunette (obviously pregnant) woman, a navy-haired kunoichi whose posture screamed 'meek,' two brown haired boys, one sitting next to a giant dog, and the other sitting in a tree. This must be Kori's team, if the folders were correct. Looking at the other three, Kiara frowned. It was pineapple-head! Sitting next to him was a tall blonde girl in skimpy clothes and chubby boy wearing armor. This was her team? She groaned mentally and made her presence known by throwing kunai at each of them. As each was delfected or dodged, she stepped out of the shadows and raised her hands.

"That was... Pathetic. You did not even notice I was here until I attacked you." She let out a sigh and ran a hand through her hair. "I am Kiara Chi and this is Kori Chikyu. We are your new teammates." She said in a monotonous voice. Turning to team ten, she scoffed. "You three need to shape up. If you get in my way, I will not hesitate to kill you." Despite being shorter and looking like she couldn't even lift the sword strapped to her back, the three teens knew she meant business. She folded her arms across her chestt and addressed her team.

"Chouji Akimichi, chunin. You specialize in body expansion techniques and you're the heavy hitter of the team."

"Ino Yamanaka, also a chunin. You specialize in mind techniques and medical ninjutsu. You work at your family's flower shop in your spare time."

"You're Pineapple-head Nara. You work with shadows and are a tactical genius who is chronically lazy. The brains of the team." Shaking her head, Kiara sighed. This was going to be a tough road.

"Since you know nothing about me or my abilities, why don't we move over to the far side of the training grounds and I will tell you about my abilities."

The three ninja followed Kiara to a tree and she propped her sword against it. "My name is Kiara Chi. I specialize in kenjutsu, assassination, and I am a distraction if you need to get away."

Shikamaru scoffed at her last comment. "You mean to tell us that a squirt like you could be a worthy distraction? Please." With those words, Kiara's eyes ginted as she grabbed her sword and faster than he could blink, she held the large blade against his neck.

"Say that again, pineapple. I dare you." She whispered. When he was silent, she just smirked. "I am a distraction because I am not so easy to kill." Pointing at Ino, who had a katana strapped to her waist, she smiled and stood with her arms out to her sides. "Cut my arm off. And don;t give me that look. I know what I'm doing."

Ino was hesitant to do what she was told, but her gut instinct made her follow the order. With a single swipe, Kiara's arm landed on the ground with a thump. Ino gasped. She had just crippled her new teammate!

"I am so sorry! I thought you were-" She was cut off mid sentence by Kiara's bell-like laughter.

"I am fine, blondie. I assume you know how to stitch a wound?" At Ino's uncertain nod, she smiled and bent down to pick up her arm. "Sew it back on." She commanded. Ino looked at her strangely, but complied nonetheless. When she was finished, she gasped when Kiara moved her arm. How was that possible!

"It is my bloodline. I can stop blood flow and I can re-attatch nerves in my own body. This is why I said I would be a good distraction." She absent-mindedly scratched at the stitches, and hoisted her sword over her shoulder. "Now that we know eachother, how about a spar? I need to be able to test out your abilities."

With the affirmative nods from her team, Kiara got into a fighting stance without her sword and bolted toward Chouji, seeing as he was the slowest. Her light steps made it easy to dodge his attacks and she struck him on the back of the neck, knocking him unconscious. One down, two to go. Ino tried to stop her with kunai, but Kiara ducked and weaved through them, grabbing one in her hand and jumping into a taijutsu battle with Ino. Blows were exchanged, but Kiara landed the winning hit, stopping her kunai before it plunged into Ino's heart. "Dead." She said before looking around for Shikamaru. She knew it had been foolish to lose sight of her enemy, but Ino was more powerful than she expected. Grabbing her sword from where it stood, stuck into the dirt, she jumped up as high as she could when she saw a tendril of black racing toward her. Following the path back, she tossed two kunai into a bush, making Shikamaru jump out of it and into her line of sight. Smirking, Kiara charged toward him, her sword at the ready. She began to slice and slash, her blade dulled with chakra so it wouldn't kill him. She missed each strike as the nimble Nara ducked and bent out of the way. Taking advantage of his bent-backward state, Kiar threw a kunai at him, managing to slice his leg. Pulling on the wire attatched to it, she brought the kunai up and licked it, swallowing his blood.

This is where her abilities differed the most from her brother. While they may look similar in this state, Kiara did not harm herself in order to harm her enemies. The only effect it had on her was increased speed and tougher skin.

Charging toward Shikamaru again, she let out a yelp of surprise when the body in front of her exploded into smoke. A shadow clone! She cursed and attempted to move, but was surprised when she was forced to the ground by a shadow. Shikamaru straddled her hips and held a kunai over her heart, a cold glint in his eye.

"Dead."


	2. Chapter 2

After Kiara left with the team she had been assigned, with the teens clearly dreading every moment, Kori turned to face her team and gave them a once over. Before she could speak, she heard soft voice from beside her.

"Well, I'll leave them in your hands then," the pregnant woman said to Kori before she left. "You guys have better behave yourselves!" she called out as she walked away.

"We will Kureni-sensei!" the three yelled back. Kori continued to examine her newly assigned team for a good five more minutes before the feral-looking brunette boy snorted and glared at his new 'sensei.'

"Are we going to just sit here for the rest of the day while you stare at us or are you actually going to test our skills?" The boy smirked at the prospect of his new 'sensei' being weaker than him. Her slim build and kind demeanor made her seem weak, so he was sure that this was going to be an easy win for team eight. Kori let out a bell-like laugh at his comment and did a series of hand signs, a sea foam green crystal beginning to take form next to her. It slowly changed shape and color until it became an exact copy of the brunette girl.

"I highly doubt you or your friends will be able to take on me and Kiara, so you three are going to fight this clone instead. I don't want you three to be hurt too much. After all, how are we supposed to go on missions if that happens?"

Kiba growled at her overconfident demeanor, his lips forming a snarl on his tanned face. "You may be new to this village, so I think I'll let this one go. After this, you should know that Akamaru and I are a force to be reckoned with." The taller brown-haired boy with tinted glasses spoke up after his teammate, his annoyance barely showing in his monotone voice. "I must agree with Kiba. It would probably be in your best interest not to underestimate our team."

"Oh," Kori said with a slight smile on her face. "That must mean you are Kiba Inuzuka and this is your dog Akamaru." She said, indicating the tanned boy and his monstrous white dog. "You're the one that has the Beast Mimicry jutsu." The random mood shift in Kori confused her new team. "And you two must be Shino Aburame, the bug user, and Hinata Hyuuga of the gentle fist." She said, looking over to the other two teens. "It's nice to meet you! My name is Kori Chikyu and I am a master of crystals." She said with a small bow, her chestnut hair falling over her shoulders.

"Well that was…interesting," Kiba muttered under his breath, Akamaru barking softly in agreement. Smiling devilishly, Kori threw a kunai knife at him that just barely missed his head. "Now, let's see what you twerps are made of." with that, the team leaped into the forest behind them. Kori took a moment before following, trying to sense where her team was hiding. "After them," she told her clone, pointing in the direction she could sense a bit of chakra from. Kori walked to the clearing, sitting down in a meditative pose, waiting to hear the clash of metal and cries of battle that were sure to come.

As the clone searched for its targets, the squad of three was hiding up in the trees, planning their next move. "We should send one person to distract the clone while the other two attack Kori-sensei." Kiba suggested. Shino's calm voice spoke up, adding to his point. "Agreed. Hinata, distract the clone. It should disappear in a few moments," Shino began his descent from the tree they were hiding in, looking around for his new sensei. Hinata leapt down and attracted the clone's attention with her gentle fist style, her fingers only hitting hard crystal. She bit her lip and started a taiijutsu battle with the clone, eventually getting knocked onto her butt with a kunai to her neck.

A gruff shout of "Fang over fang!" alerted Kori of Kiba's presence, giving her just enough time to jump out of the way. Kiba growled and charged at the older woman, claws out and fangs bared. The two ninja and ninken exchanged blows until Kori's hand found its way to Kiba's neck.

Her eyes closed halfway as the color slowly left them, strange pattern spreading across her abdomen. She began to squeeze, making Kiba's eyes widen in fear. Akamaru found himself in a similar position, his neck being squeezed as well. Shino sent a wave of his bugs to distract Kori. Her grip slackened and her eyes closed as she collapsed onto the ground, the strange black markings receding back into the mark on her neck.

Kori's eyes shot open and took in her surroundings immediately. She could tell that she was in Konoha's hospital, surrounded by her new team, her partner, and her partner's team. Kiara looked half worried and half ticked off. 'I'm in trouble' Kori thought as she winced, remembering how volatile Kiara's temper could be. Everyone in the room let out a collective breath when they saw Kori awaken.

Kiba's voice was the first to be heard, and a trace of fear could be heard in his gruff tone. "What happened out there, sensei? One second you were afraid of my attack, and the next you're choking me." the Inuzuka raised his eyebrow, trying to mask his evident suspicion of the tall woman.

Kiara glared at the chestnut-haired woman and Kori swallowed nervously. "Oh... I must have used up too much chakra on our journey here. The fight just took more out of me than I thought it would." Kori laughed nervously, trying to hide her reluctance of facing her partner alone.

'She seemed perfectly fine until Kiba attacked her.' Shino thought. 'Something isn't right about these two.' He pushed up his glasses, crossing his arms over his chest as his mind raced, trying to figure out just who these two women were.

Kori smiled at her team. "Well, I'm fine now. We should get back to your training," Kori said. "Why don't you guys train for a bit on your own and I'll join you-"

Her sweet voice was cut off as a hard knock was heard on the door. A busty blonde woman walked in, and all seven of the ninja not in a bed bowed and mumbled a greeting to the Hokage. Her harsh voice made the shinobi stand up straight as she leveled Kori with a soft glare. "You will be doing no such thing until we figure out what happened. All of you, get out." She said, motioning to the door.

The six teens left, but Kiara only took her sword off her back and leaned against the wall.

"I'm not leaving her. It's not that I don't trust you... Actually, it is." Her rough yet feminine voice dripped with sarcasm as the shorter woman crossed her arms over her chest. "Kori has been hurt in the past. Where she goes, I go." Sure, it wasn't exactly the truth, but Kiara really was protective of her naive partner.

Tsunade raised a honey-colored eyebrow as she looked Kiara over. "You are lucky I'm in a good mood, or else you would be flying through that wall right now." She practically growled out, her hazel eyes turning cold.

The three kunoichi discussed Kori's fainting, and came to the conclusion that she was anemic. She was given blood pills and was told to take it easy for a bit. Kiara helped her partner out of bed, and as soon as the Hokage was out of the room, Kori was pinned to the wall, Kiara's sword at her throat.

"What the HELL were you thinking, allowing yourself to lose control like that?! We could have been found out!" Kiara growled out, her magenta eyes practically glowing with the fire that was evident in her voice.

"I am sorry, Kiara-chan. I don't know what happened." Kori said as she pushed her partner's sword away from her neck. "The Inuzuka surprised me, that's all. As for the fainting... We both know I'm not anemic."

Kiara lowered her sword and set it against the wall, crossing her arms over her chest again, which seemed to be her natural stance. "You normally don't faint after using it unless you've been using it for hours at a time. From that bug boy said, you used it for less than a minute. What gives?" Her harsh tone gave way to a softer way of speaking. Kiara really was worried about her partner.

"Perhaps it is because Hokage-sama sent ANBU to watch us. They must have sensed what I was going to do to Kiba and they knocked me out." She said, biting her lip in concentration. Sure, that could have worked as an explanation, but Kori had no marks on her and surely the Hokage would have known about any ANBU activity.

Kiara voiced those thoughts and the two women shook their heads, deciding to figure it out later. For now, they were going to meet with their teams and get to know them better.


End file.
